An ambitious attempt to sue Fred Goodwin and other former executives of Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as the bank itself, got over the start line today as proceedings were issued in the High Court.

The RBOS Shareholder Action Group, which is seeking up to £4 billion in damages, said it had successfully issued proceedings against Mr Goodwin, as well as the former chairman Sir Tom McKillop, the former investment banking chief Johnny Cameron and the former finance director Guy Whittaker.

The group argues that shareholders were misled about the financial health of the bank when it tapped them